04.12.2026. Sunday Sermon Rev. Lee Jeungbok
Text: Genesis 4:25–26
Title: The Birth of Seth and Those Who Call on the Name of the LORD

Genesis 4:25–26
Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

The beginning of Genesis chapter 4 was a tragedy. The first brothers of humanity, Cain and Abel, experienced murder between them. Sin covered the world, Abel died, and Cain left God and built his own city. The descendants of Cain established civilization and gained power, but from their lips flowed not praise to God, but songs of vengeance and pride (the song of Lamech).
The world seemed as if it had forgotten God, and the holy lineage appeared to have been cut off by the death of Abel.
At that very moment, there came news announcing the beginning of a reversal—the message of today’s passage. Just when it seemed that all who desired to serve God had disappeared, God prepared a new beginning. God gave another offspring, Seth, in place of Abel.

1. Genesis chapter 4 clearly represents two streams that exist in the world.

 

1.1) Cain and his descendants represent a worldly stream centered not on God but on themselves.
They are those who desire to live apart from God. To leave God means to live by one’s own strength for oneself alone. Therefore, they build cities through their own efforts for their own security and develop culture and civilization for themselves. This stream reflects the values of those who have departed from God.

1.2) The stream of worshiping God through the descendants of Seth.
After Abel’s death, God gave Eve another offspring, Seth. From the time of Enosh, the descendants of Seth offered worship by publicly calling on the name of God. This is a stream completely opposite to the worldly stream of those who live for themselves. This stream reflects the values of those who live to serve God.

2. The leading stream that fulfills the promise of redemption begins from God.

 

2.1) Adam and Eve were in pain due to the loss of the promise.
Their godly son Abel was killed, and Cain, the murderer, left God. The descendants of Cain firmly settled into a direction of developing culture and civilization apart from God. For Adam and Eve, watching their lives must have been great suffering.

2.2) However, the merciful God does not leave His people alone in suffering.
After the death of the righteous Abel, God gave Eve another seed (offspring), Seth. Seth was not merely a son to Adam and Eve. He was a son of hope who led them to expect the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Here, “another seed” means a descendant who continues the offspring of the woman promised to Eve in Genesis 3:15. Indeed, from the time of Enosh, Seth’s son, people began to call on the name of the LORD. That is, they offered worship publicly to God. In the midst of the dark flow of human history, people who served God were once again established. Adam and Eve gained companions who served God.

2.3) When Seth was born, Eve realized that God’s redemptive promise was still progressing.
By comparing Eve’s confession at the birth of Cain in verse 4:1 and at the birth of Seth in verse 4:25, we can see what she realized.
In verse 4:1, after giving birth to Cain, Eve confesses, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”
In verse 4:25, she confesses with God as the subject, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”
Verse 1 says, “I have gotten….” Eve was the subject, confessing that she obtained a son who would fulfill the promise with the help of the LORD. But that was a premature judgment. Cain was not the promised offspring, nor was he the one appointed at God’s time.
On the other hand, in verse 25, the subject is not Eve but God. “God has given me… another seed.” Eve used God as the subject, confessing that God had given the promised seed. Eve realized that God’s promise of salvation was still valid and progressing.

3. God’s promise continues through Enosh, the son of Seth.

 

Genesis 4:26
Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

3.1) The continuation from Seth to Enosh is not merely a genealogy.
When Eve gave birth to Seth, she clearly realized that Seth was another seed through whom God would continue His promise. However, there is no record that Seth did anything extraordinary. Yet the evidence that Seth was the offspring to continue God’s promise was revealed when he had a son, and in that son’s generation people began to worship by publicly calling on the name of the LORD.

3.2) By naming his son “Enosh,” Seth was hoping in God’s promise.
Through his son’s name, Seth intended to convey a living message to people.
How often are our names called by others? Especially in America, both adults and children call each other by name. In such a context, the name Enosh would have conveyed its meaning even more frequently. Enosh means “frail human (man),” and thus “a being destined to die.” Seth likely gave his son this name with that intention. And indeed, whenever the name Enosh was called, people would have been reminded of how frail they were. Over time, Seth’s intention bore fruit. In the days of Enosh, people began to publicly call on the name of the LORD.

3.3) Remember that God is always the strength of the weak.
Those like the descendants of Cain, who believe they can do anything on their own, do not seek God. But those who, like Seth, acknowledge their weakness and know they are mortal will seek God. Through naming his son, Seth clearly confessed his weakness and made known to others the need for God. And God worked among people through Seth’s confession of faith.
A common characteristic of the people who represent faith in the Bible is their weakness.
God called Abraham at the age of 75, and he became the father of all believers.
David was the youngest son of an insignificant family, a shepherd boy, yet God called him and made him the greatest king of faith in Israel.
Paul was short, not eloquent in speech, and had an eye disease, yet he received more grace than any other apostle, planted the most churches, and wrote Scripture.
What I want to say is this: if we desire to become those who truly serve God, we must first know our weakness and depend on God.
God’s redemptive work has always been accomplished not by human ability, but by God’s grace. This is a truth that believers must remember even more in this individual-centered age.

3.4) Those who know their weakness call on the name of the LORD.
The offerings of Cain and Abel were personal acts of worship. But in the time of Enosh, people living within the culture of Cain’s descendants realized how weak they were. And they publicly called on the name of the LORD.
The phrase “people called on the name of the LORD” means that they worshiped God by proclaiming before others that He is their Lord. In Hebrew, calling someone’s name implies having a personal relationship. Thus, those who called on the name of the LORD had a personal relationship with Him as their Lord.
Therefore, those who call on the name of the LORD are those who rely on God as their Master. In other words, before the descendants of Cain who exalted themselves, they publicly declared that all people must depend on God. They declared that the values of those people were wrong.

3.5) Who were the people who called on the name of the LORD?
It does not simply refer to the descendants of Seth by bloodline. It also includes those among the descendants of Cain who realized their weakness and called on the name of the LORD. Even if they were physically descendants of Cain, God’s grace led them to reflect on themselves within a society centered on human values. God’s grace made them realize how frail their lives were. They then publicly confessed before others that the LORD is their God.
All of this was the fruit of God’s gracious work through the message conveyed by the name of Enosh, the son of Seth.

3.6) As an aside, I will mention a mistaken Jewish interpretation of the phrase “calling on the name of the LORD.”
Blessed are those who listen to Scripture without prejudice.
The mistaken Jewish interpretation is that from the time people began calling on the name of the LORD, humanity fell into corruption, leading to the judgment of Noah’s flood. The reason for this misunderstanding is a misinterpretation of Exodus 20:7.

Exodus 20:7
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Many cults in this world arise from misinterpreting God’s Word and following those interpretations. This shows the importance of correctly interpreting Scripture.
It is clear that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs of faith, built altars and publicly called on the name of the LORD.

4. Finally, we who live in the 21st century must examine whether we are truly those who call on God.

 

4.1) Simply attending church and participating in church service does not make us those who call on God.
If you are building your own city with honor, power, and material wealth for yourself like the descendants of Cain, you cannot be said to call God your Lord.
You cannot be certain that you are a believer who calls on God’s name just because you attend a large, well-known church and worship with many people. People may attend large churches for business purposes or to gain votes in elections. Even young people may attend large churches to find a good marriage partner.

4.2) Those who truly call on God in this modern age are those who have the following confession.
First, they must have confessed that they are weak and mortal beings destined to die.
Next, they must know that their only hope is in Jesus Christ and receive Him by faith.
Those who have such a confession truly call on the name of God. Only those who make this confession can offer true worship to God.

During my college years, I was trained in the CCC missionary organization. When I was a freshman, there was a vice leader in our mission group whose faith life looked very admirable and impressive. I respected him deeply. So I tried not to miss any of the meetings he led.
About five years after I graduated, I happened to hear news about him, and I was shocked. I heard that he had abandoned his faith.
What was the problem? Was the training of the mission organization wrong? No. He had simply been active in the mission group without truly confessing by faith that Jesus Christ is his Savior. In this way, those who zealously participate in religious activities without examining their faith fall into self-deception. Eventually, a moment comes when the illusion they thought was faith shatters and disappears. And their final choice is to abandon God and begin living a life of building their own city.
Therefore, if we desire to truly worship God, we must first clearly confess that we are weak and mortal beings. We must be convinced that without God, we are nothing. Only such people can become worshipers who publicly proclaim God, who grants salvation through Jesus Christ.

Through this examination, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become those who call on God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray. (End)